Leiden University Student Repository

Wagemans, Sasha (2024)

Artur & Sheherazade: De Verhalen van een Christelijke Koning en een Islamitische Koningin

Bachelor thesis | Midden-Oostenstudies (BA)

An article by Cameron Mann suggests that the stories of King Arthur and the Arabian Nights are very similar in origin and development. According to Mann, The religious aspects of both stories would also be similar. The goal of this thesis is to see if Mann was right. The research question is therefore: what is the role of religion in the stories of King Arthur and the Arabian Nights? The thesis consists of three parts. First a comparison of the origins of both stories, to see if they are actually similar. The second chapter is a deep-dive into the religious elements in the story of King Arthur and their role they play. This will be done by examining different authors, who added different christian elements depending on their historical context. The final chapter is about the islamic elements in the Arabian Nights and how these elements reflect the society of the time the stories were told. The conclusion is that both stories were created in completely different contexts and also...Show moreAn article by Cameron Mann suggests that the stories of King Arthur and the Arabian Nights are very similar in origin and development. According to Mann, The religious aspects of both stories would also be similar. The goal of this thesis is to see if Mann was right. The research question is therefore: what is the role of religion in the stories of King Arthur and the Arabian Nights? The thesis consists of three parts. First a comparison of the origins of both stories, to see if they are actually similar. The second chapter is a deep-dive into the religious elements in the story of King Arthur and their role they play. This will be done by examining different authors, who added different christian elements depending on their historical context. The final chapter is about the islamic elements in the Arabian Nights and how these elements reflect the society of the time the stories were told. The conclusion is that both stories were created in completely different contexts and also that the role of the religious elements are not as similar as Mann suggested.Show less

Koning Arthur, Duizend-en-één-Nacht, Christendom, Islam

Author

Wagemans, Sasha

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Islam Studies

Supervisors

Maaike Warnaar

ECTS Credits

15

Language

nl